Name ____________________________________ Period _______ Date ____________________ Ecology Concepts Concept Check: Use the word bank below to match the definition with the term. Ecosystem Organism Biome Biosphere Abiotic Biotic Community Population 1. Living part of the environment _____________________ 2. Collection of abiotic and biotic factors in an environment ______________________ 3. A single living thing that can breed/produce fertile offspring _____________________ 4. Ecosystems with same climate and similar communities ___________________________ 5. Individuals of the same species that live in the same area_________________________ 6. Earth with all the ecosystems _______________________ 7. Different interacting populations that live together in an area ____________________ 8. Nonliving part of the environment _____________________ 9. Arrange these levels of organization in order from 1 to 4 starting with the simplest. ________ Organism ________ Community ________ Ecosystem ________ Population 10. Identify the level of organization. a. Group of bats living in a cave __________________ b. Red-eyed tree frog _______________ c. Insects, fish and algae in a lake ________________ d. An ocean ______________________ Habitat vs. Niche 1. The red fox is a predator which feeds on the small mammals, amphibians, insects, and fruit. Red foxes are active at night. They provide blood for blackflies and mosquitoes, and are host to numerous diseases. The scraps, or carrion, left behind after a fox's meal provide food for many small scavengers and decomposers. a. Is this an example of the red fox’s habitat or niche? _____________________ 2. The red fox occupies a niche in the meadow-forest edge communities. In other plant communities different species of animal may occupy a similar niche to that of the red fox. For example, in the grassland communities of western Canada and the United States, the coyote occupies a similar niche (to that of the red fox.) Explain what would happen if the two organisms tried to occupy the same niche in the same habitat. ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 3. What is the difference between a habitat and a niche? _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________
